Johnny Marr – “I’ll Reform The Smiths When The Government Steps Down”

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[pullquote quote=”If this government stepped down, I’ll reform the band. That’s a fair trade, isn’t it?”]The impossibility of such a prospect aside, it’s nice of legendary Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, to tease his fans a little by saying that he’ll “reform The Smiths when the government steps down.”

Last night at the NME Awards in London, Marr was there to give [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Noel Gallagher[/lastfm] his “Godlike Genius” award and to pick up The Smiths’ prize of Best Reissue for their Complete box set.

In a video interview, the surly guitarist talked about The Smiths, his relationship with Morrissey, and how it felt to win an award.

[pullquote quote=”He’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine, and we go through periods of time when we’re in communication and at times when we’re not. I’m not sure he wants to communicate, so I’ll just carry on doing what I’m doing, and live my life and be a musician. “]About reforming The Smiths (Let’s all fantasize about them playing Coachella next year), Marr had this to say: “We won’t be reforming this week. Maybe if the government stepped down. If this government stepped down, I’ll reform the band. How’s that? That’s a fair trade, isn’t it? I think the country would be better off, don’t you? I’ll do it if the coalition steps down.”

Does Marr even still talk to Morrissey?

“I don’t not speak to him, because that implies a certain standoff or whatever,” replied Marr. “He’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine, and we go through periods of time when we’re in communication and at times when we’re not. I’m not sure he wants to communicate, so I’ll just carry on doing what I’m doing, and live my life and be a musician.”

Exposing a rather appalling factoid to any Smiths lover, Marr said that this was the first award The Smiths have ever won.

[pullquote quote=”I think it’s the first award The Smiths have had, so that’s pretty good. It’s nice that people still love the songs. “] ”It feels nice, actually, because we’ve not been given an award before, I don’t think,” explained Marr. “So I think it’s the first award The Smiths have had, so that’s pretty good. It’s nice that people still love the songs.”

“Putting out that reissue was a lot of struggle, so I’m glad that it worked out well,” he concluded. “It’s nice to get a pat on the back for it.”

What would you do if The Smiths got back together? Tell us your band crush stories in the comments!